This Covent Garden floating optical illusion is mind-bending

It looks like It looks like the top half of the building is just lifting away.

Created by artist Alex Chinneck, this installation has been intriguing and confusing visitors to Covent Garden in London in recent days - with many stopping to try and figure out just what is going on.

The front of the Victorian portico in Covent Garden. Photo: John Stillwell/PA Wire

The optical illusion - which looks like an original Victorian building in the Covent Garden Market - measures 12 metres long and is entitled 'Take my lightning but don't steal my thunder'.

The 30-year-old architectural artist - who previously turned a house upside down, no big deal - said the surreal piece took a team of 100 architects, engineers, carpenters and set-builders eight months and 500 hours to make.

The artist and his creation. Photo: John Stillwell/PA Wire

So how is it done?

The floating structure contains a steel frame weighing 14 tonnes and is surrounded by polystyrene that has been painstakingly painted and digitally carved.

It is connected to the ground via a green market cart which hides a six tonne counterweight that keeps it from keeling over.

The piece has created quite the stir since it's installation. Photo: John Stillwell/PA Wire

We get the physics behind it (sort of) but we still can't look at the picture without seeing magic.

Nice job, Alex.